On September 26, 2019, ALX announced the acquisition of claims prospective for gold mineralization in the Red Lake Mining District of Ontario, Canada. The Vixen Gold Project (“Vixen” or the “Project”) consists of three sub-projects totaling 10,614 hectares (26,227 acres) staked within the Birch-Uchi greenstone belt, located approximately 60 kilometres (37 miles) east of Red Lake, Ontario, Canada. Vixen is owned 100% by the Company, with the majority if the claims subject to a 2.0% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR"), and a 1.5% NSR applicable to eight claim units acquired in March 2021.
ALX acquired Vixen after its review of historical surface exploration carried out by the Ontario Geological Survey (the “OGS”), and of Province of Ontario assessment records describing gold showings and past-producing mines located near the ALX claims.
On March 26, 2021, ALX announced it had purchased an additional eight claim units at Vixen. The eight claim units comprise approximately 162 hectares (399 acres) and are located within the Vixen South claim block. ALX agreed to pay $2,500 cash and 200,000 common shares to an arm’s-length vendor for a 100% interest in the Claims, subject to a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty in favour of the vendor, which can be purchased in its entirety by ALX for $1.5 million.
In early May 2021, ALX executed an option-to-purchase agreement for an additional nineteen claim units and a single patented claim. The claims comprise approximately 384 hectares (949 acres) and are located along the northern edge of the Vixen South claim block. ALX has agreed to pay arm’s-length vendors (the “Vendors”) $5,000 cash in exchange for an exclusive 90-day due diligence period to investigate the claims, which includes a site visit planned for late May 2021. If the Company decides to proceed to an option period, an additional $10,000 cash and 200,000 common shares of ALX are payable to the Vendors. If ALX wishes to proceed to purchase a 100% interest in the claims, the Company would be required to pay to the Vendors an additional $25,000 cash and 300,000 common shares of ALX on or before December 1, 2021. The claims would remain subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty (“NSR”) in favour of the Vendors, which can be purchased in its entirety by ALX for $2.5 million.
On September 9, 2021, ALX announced the execution of an option agreement for Vixen, whereby First Mining Gold Corp. ("First Mining") (TSX: FF) has the option to earn an initial 70% interest in Vixen by making cash payments totaling $550,000, the issuance of First Mining common shares totaling $400,000 to ALX, and by incurring at least $500,000 of expenditures at Vixen during the first three years of the option term. Upon completing the first stage of the earn-in, First Mining will hold, through its wholly-owned subsidiary company Gold Canyon Resources Inc. (“Gold Canyon”), a 70% interest in Vixen and will have an additional two-year period to acquire the remaining 30% interest in Vixen by electing to make a $500,000 cash payment to ALX and by the issuance of First Mining common shares to ALX totaling $500,000.In the event that First Mining elects not to complete the second stage of the earn-in, ALX and Gold Canyon will enter into a 70%-30% joint venture agreement with respect to Vixen.
Vixen demonstrates a credible setting for significant gold mineralization. In 1991, pristine gold grains were found by the OGS in till samples collected from Vixen South, which is a possible indication of an on-property source. Vixen South and Vixen West each lie within 10 kilometres (6 miles) of past-producing gold mines, and each lie within approximately 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) from the Springpole gold deposit (“Springpole”) owned by First Mining Gold Corp., which hosts an Indicated mineral resource estimated at 139.1 million tonnes containing 4.67 million ounces of gold and 24.19 million ounces silver at an average grade of 1.04 grams/tonne gold and 5.4 grams/tonne silver1. Vixen North is located approximately 6 kilometres (4 miles) northwest of Springpole near other high-grade gold deposits and hosts historical showings in surface trenching with gold values ranging up to 9.5 grams/tonne gold2.
1. Springpole Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate was calculated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. in “Preliminary Economic Assessment Update for the Springpole Gold Project, Ontario, Canada” dated June 6, 2017 (Arseneau, et al)
2. “Brengold Prospect” - Trenching was carried out by Brengold Mines Limited in 1934 and is described in Ontario Department of Mines, Vol. XLVI, Part VII, pages 25-26.
On October 29, 2020, ALX announced its receipt of the first analytical results from an October 2020 prospecting and sampling program at Vixen North. In addition, a high-resolution airborne magnetic and VLF-EM survey was completed at Vixen North during the month of October.
Highlights of the 2020 Vixen North Phase 2 Exploration Program
ALX’s initial Phase 1 2020 prospecting program was halted by a major forest fire in August 2020. The follow-up Phase 2 program in October 2020 was designed to continue geological mapping and sampling at Vixen within important geological trends that indicate the presence of iron formation-hosted gold occurrences (see ALX news release dated September 9, 2020). An additional 85 samples were taken during mapping work focused on two areas of Vixen North: the Vulpin Zone and the Dickenson Zone.
Vixen Gold Project – Vulpin Zone, 2019-2020 and Historical Gold Results greater than 1.0 g/t Gold
| Sample Number |
Year | Vixen North Sample Location |
Gold (grams/tonne) |
Silver (grams/tonne) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75927 | 2020 | Vulpin Zone | 2.05 | 0.9 |
| 75951 | 2020 | Vulpin Zone | 8.41 | 1.5 |
| 75963 | 2020 | 1.4 km east of Vulpin Zone | 1.50 | - |
| 295572 | 2019 | Vulpin Zone | 5.93 | 1.3 |
| 295565 | 2019 | Magnetite-Fluorite Showing | 1.47 | 0.9 |
| 64969 | 2002 | Vulpin Zone | 22.73 | 2.2 |
| 64972 | 2002 | Vulpin Zone | 5.88 | 0.2 |
| 64968 | 2002 | Vulpin Zone | 1.74 | <0.2 |
| 87JG-199 | 1987 | Vulpin Zone | 5.49 | - |
During the first phase of the 2020 Program, gold occurrences were found within gossanous and magnetite-bearing host rocks, leading to the possibility of banded iron formation (“BIF”) gold deposits at Vixen, a gold deposit model which has not been historically sought after in the Vixen area. However, the Springpole Gold deposit (owned by First Mining Gold Corp.) located six kilometres to the south of Vixen North demonstrates the influence of NNW-trending BIF for hosting gold mineralization confirmed by both surface mapping and the detection of strong magnetic high anomalies observed in a 2004 aeromagnetic survey. At Springpole, strong evidence exists that gold and associated fluorite mineralization is genetically related to the high-level emplacement of a large, alkaline porphyry intrusive and breccia pipe complex (“APB”)2. ALX is currently reviewing the interpreted iron formation and fluorite occurrences at Vixen North to evaluate the presence of an APB gold mineralization model at the Vixen Project.
1 Preliminary Economic Assessment Update for the Springpole Gold Project, Ontario, Canada, prepared for First Mining Gold Corp. by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., November 2019.
2 Technical report on the Springpole Lake Property, Red Make Mining Division, NW Ontario, for Gold Canyon Resources Inc., (Zabey, 2002).
ALX reviewed the digital data from a 1992 airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey and subsequently commissioned a high-resolution magnetic and VLF-EM survey for integration with the 2020 Program results. The northern edge of a 3.0 kilometre-long magnetic high anomaly is coincident with a series of gold occurrences at the Vulpin Zone mapped in the first phase of the 2020 Program. The strong magnetic high feature curls southward into a lake that obscures any bedrock expression. ALX also interprets a broad NNW-trending shear zone striking through the Vulpin Zone that further supports the BIF hypothesis.
ALX considers Vixen historically underexplored where areas of limited outcrop have inhibited surface exploration and plans to identify new drill targets through detailed prospecting, leading-edge geochemical techniques, and geophysical surveys.
2020 Airborne Geophysical Survey
On September 24, 2020, ALX announced the execution of a contract for a helicopter-borne geophysical survey at Vixen. The airborne survey was completed in October 2020 on the Vixen North property, which demonstrates significant gold mineralization in surface samples coincident with a historical magnetic high trend.
Highlights of the 2020 Vixen North Airborne Survey
Heli Star 350BA+ Fitted For Terraquest Magnetic and VLF-EM Survey
The 2020 airborne survey was designed to complement ALX’s 2019-2020 prospecting programs at Vixen North, where gold occurrences returned up to 8.41 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold within gossanous and magnetite-bearing host rocks at the Vulpin Zone, and gold values up to 17.7 g/t gold were sampled by ALX at the Dickenson Zone.
On December 12, 2019, ALX announced the results of a reconnaissance sampling program carried out during an October 2019 site visit to Vixen North.
A total of 78 rock samples were collected within Vixen North from six locations that were chosen following ALX’s review of historical exploration data. Crews were transported daily by helicopter to the sites where historical trenches and reported mineral occurrences were located. Both mineralized and unmineralized samples were collected to obtain geochemical signatures at each of the target areas. Four rock samples returned significant values of gold with anomalous silver, including a sample comprised of 80% quartz veins/flooding with 20% host metabasalt that returned 23.9 grams/tonne (0.765 oz/ton) gold. Rock samples that returned assay values of over 1.0 grams/tonne gold are shown in the table below and certain mineralized samples are shown in the map below. The brief five-day program successfully confirmed many of the historical gold prospects at Vixen North, and additional work was recommended. ALX integrated the geochemical results of its October 2019 site visit with all available geological and geophysical data in order to prioritize target areas that demonstrate faulting and possible geological contacts that are interpreted to act as conduits for hydrothermal fluids for precious metals.
Vixen Gold Project – Rock Samples with Assay Values greater than 1.0 grams/tonne Gold
A total of 149 soil samples were collected for processing by the Spatiotemporal Geochemical Hydrocarbon (“SGH”) method, which has reportedly detected gold and other minerals in overburden covered areas. The results from the SGH survey at Vixen South showed an anomalous response for gold and have been integrated into the Vixen exploration database to assist in future surface exploration and target generation.
The Vixen claims were staked by a related party to ALX (the “Vendor”) and were acquired by the Company in exchange for reimbursement of the Vendor’s staking costs, and implementation of an exclusive three-year geological services agreement between ALX and the Vendor. A 2.0 % NSR was granted in favour of the Vendor, 1.0% of which can be purchased by the Company for $1.5 million.
To date, the Red Lake Mining District (“Red Lake”) has produced over 28 million ounces of gold since mines began production in 1925 (readers are cautioned that mineralization present on adjacent properties may not be present at Vixen). Historic gold mines in the Red Lake camp include the Campbell mine, the Red Lake mine, and the Couchenour-Williams mine, all multi-million ounce gold producers. Vixen lies within the Birch-Uchi greenstone belt, a geological trend located to the northeast of Red Lake that is highly-prospective for new showings of gold mineralization. ALX considers Vixen underexplored where areas of limited outcrop inhibited surface exploration and plans to identify new drill targets through its geophysical review and leading-edge geochemical exploration techniques.
The technical information on this website was reviewed and approved by Sierd Eriks, P. Geo., President and Chief Geologist of the Company, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101. Readers are cautioned that some of the technical information described on this web page is historical in nature; however, the information is deemed credible and was produced by professional geologists of the eras discussed. ALX cautions investors that it has reviewed but has not verified all of the historical Vixen exploration data. Management further cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Vixen Gold Project.
Gold analyses from 2020 and 2019 described above were processed by Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Actlabs) in Ancaster, Ontario by fire assay with Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Silver was analyzed using a 4-acid “Near Total” Digestion with an ICP OES finish.
